Weather and Traffic

Is a white Christmas in Florida a flaky idea?

Chances for a white Christmas across the U.S. based on historical records from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Credit: NOAA)

When I dream of a white Christmas, it’s usually because I’m planning a holiday weekend at Fort Myers Beach or Naples, where the white, finely packed sand supports your chaise lounge chair just right.

But many people, seduced by comforting recollections of crooner Bing Crosby’s famous holiday song, are always looking for the real McCoy. They would like to wake up to a Norman Rockwell scene in which snow is falling outside their window and the house is warmed by freshly baked bread, pies and cookies.

The chance of a white Christmas in Palm Beach is 0 percent (we hope). But the term “a Florida white Christmas” is not an oxymoron.

On Christmas Eve in 1989, for example, Jacksonville, Pensacola and other areas of the extreme northern part of the state received measurable snowfall. It was the first white Christmas in Jacksonville’s history as up to 3 inches fell in parts of the city.

The best chance for a white Christmas this year will be a swath from the Texas panhandle up through Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and northern New England.

But in Buffalo, the traditional snow capitol of the East, chances are dwindling for a white Christmas. The National Weather Service is predicting highs in the 40s through the end of the week.

According to Weather.com (The Weather Channel), the safest bets for holiday snow are in the Rocky Mountain states from New Mexico through Utah, western Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

The AccuWeather forecast for Christmas Day in Palm Beach is for a high of 82 degrees under sunny skies. Get those beach chairs ready.

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The days when massive amounts of data can be downloaded from NOAA without charge may be coming to an end.

NOAA is a federal agency whose mission is to keep the public informed about changes in the weather, and potentially hazardous storms. But the government’s satellite system has become advanced and complex, and the data it supplies is rich and detailed.

It is also costly.

As a result, Congress has asked NOAA to look into charging scientists and even other federal agencies for access to some of this data. At issue are some of the “specialized data products” that NOAA provides. Details are unavailable, but it’s certain to be controversial.

A Dec. 9 article in the journal, Science notes: “A storm is brewing over the suggestion.”